Arsenal have shelved their interest in Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino, according to the latest reports coming out of Spain.
David Raya, who was on loan at the Gunners from Brentford last season, is the only permanent signing of the summer so far with triggering the option in his temporary deal.
The Gunners are set to seal their second signing over the weekend as Bologna centre-back Riccardo Calafiori .
And there have been rumours they have now turned their attention to a midfielder and, in particular, Real Sociedad and Spain s Merino.
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‘GMS sources have been informed that Arsenal are set to make contact with Sociedad imminently as they are eager to land Merino after beginning to turn their attentions towards pinpointing their next priority target after the finer details of the deal for Calafiori have been ironed out.
‘The Gunners’ intention has been to study the market and let it settle, resulting in previous targets Douglas Luiz and Amadou Onana moving to Juventus and Aston Villa respectively, while Newcastle United’s asking price for Bruno Guimareas is out of reach and persuading Martin Zubimendi to leave Sociedad is difficult.
‘Merino’s Spain teammate Fabian Ruiz is also on Arsenal’s radar after catching the eye with his performances at Euro 2024, GMS sources have learned, but the Paris Saint-Germain man is not currently at the top of Arteta’s shopping list as he seeks an ideal midfield partner for Declan Rice.’
But now reports in Spain are claiming that Arsenal and Barcelona seem to have put an end to the option of signing Merino this summer.
It is claimed that Barcelona have put the signing of the midfielder on hold to focus all their financial efforts on bringing in Nico Williams and Dani Olmo , while Arsenal were the main interest but the reality is that the London team has not put any transfer offer on the table .
That has given Real Sociedad encouragement with the La Liga outfit hoping Merino will remain with the club for at least one more season .
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Oleksandr Zinchenko is one player who may find himself out of the team potentially next season if Arsenal are successful in the transfer market.
And when asked if Arsenal have outgrown Zinchenko, William Gallas told Gambling Zone: Yeah, I think Arsenal’s football has moved on from what Zinchenko offers them. Football is a game that constantly evolves, and it is changing again at the moment in terms of how the best teams try and defend.
